


Your Move

by Ortega



Category: RuPaul's Drag Race RPF
Genre: F/F, Gals Being More Than Pals, Season 11, Secretary/Lawyer AU, someone pls help i have no idea what i'm doing i have probably tagged this all wrong
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-03
Updated: 2019-04-03
Packaged: 2020-01-04 06:51:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18338387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ortega/pseuds/Ortega
Summary: Brooke Lynn Hytes has been through four secretaries in the space of a year. When Vanessa “Vanjie” Mateo arrives as the fifth, Brooke finds herself wondering if wanting to rip her clothes off too much counts as unfair grounds for dismissal.





	Your Move

Someone was getting fired today, Brooke could feel it in her bones. She’d just come back from court where the jury had found her client guilty (when half of the defence’s evidence had been blatantly fabricated) and all she had in terms of new cases were things like fraud, embezzlement, identity theft. There was nothing she could really get her teeth into. She wanted a murder or something, and with the mood she was in she’d be quite happy to commit the crime herself if it meant not being utterly bored out her skull at work. So she wasn’t in the best of moods when one of her coworkers walked into her office wanting to talk to her.

“D, I’m not in the mood to talk,” she drawled, as the other girl marched in all happy and cocky like she was the cat that got the cream and a medium rare filet mignon to boot.

“Oh what, you’re just so outrageously busy, are you?” her friend raised one eyebrow, as Brooke realised self-consciously that she was sitting on her phone scrolling Instagram and getting absolutely no work done. Brooke smiled. Detox was a pain in the ass but she was still the closest thing to a friend she had around here, the other lawyers at the firm being boring old white men whose blood was about 90% cholesterol.

“I’m busy stewing in my own anger about that West case, actually, and that my only current cases make me want to either stare at the drywall or eat it, so take a leap,” she bit back, Detox blurting out a squawk of laughter and sliding into the chair opposite her desk.

“Yeah, heard you lost. Bad luck,” Detox’s voice took on a brief and out of character conciliatory note and only making Brooke feel around 1% better about the situation. “I came to gloat about getting that mafia shooting case, but I won’t do that anymore. Wait, shit, I guess I already have.”

Brooke’s eyes narrowed. “The what?”

“The drive-by case? You know? The one we all got emailed about last week? Deadline for putting yourself forward for it was yesterday? Don’t tell me you don’t know about this, bitch,” Detox’s eyes widened as she looked at Brooke as if she was dumb, which only riled her more.

“No, I don’t know. All my emails go through- fuck,” Brooke cut her sentence off as her heart sank. She looked out of the window to her office and saw her secretary, Farrah, talking on her phone and laughing and doing absolutely nothing she was meant to be doing. Brooke felt herself pulling the insides of her cheeks together so that her bottom lip stuck out, then pulling it in to bite down on it hard in a moment of self-restraint. She wanted to flip over her desk, push all her paperwork off it and scream, but instead she took a deep breath, kept her voice steady, and looked back at her friend.

“D, could you do me a huge favour?” she asked, Detox nodding with visible amusement in her eyes. Brooke continued. “Could you fire my secretary?”

Detox let out a small laugh, then trailed off as she realised Brooke wasn’t smiling. “Oh, you’re serious?”

“Deadly.”

Detox blinked, then nodded slowly. “Okay. On what grounds exactly?”

“Incompetence,” Brooke spat, part of her wanting to laugh as she saw the sides of Detox’s mouth perk up in a quick smile.

“Brooke, I don’t mean to be a cunt,” Detox said, her tone of voice calm as she addressed her friend. “But this is the fourth one this year.”

“Well I don’t mean to be a cunt either, but if the boss will insist on sending us idiotic fucking living Barbie dolls, then I’m just going to have to keep sending them back, won’t I?” Brooke smiled placidly, giving a little nod to suggest that was the end of the conversation.

She felt bad as she watched Detox break the news to the young girl, the cold-hearted stoicism on her face contrasting with Farrah’s inconsolable tears, but she was pissed. Pissed was better than upset, and if she gave herself a chance to think about it too much she knew she would cry at the fact she missed an opportunity to work with a notorious mafia member, something fucking exciting for once. Now she had to ask the head of the firm to interview for another new secretary, and she knew he’d be furious with her for getting rid of another one that he’d have to waste his time interviewing. As Brooke picked up her office phone, she looked at the wall and wondered, if she seasoned it well enough, that eating it would be all that bad.

Three days later and Brooke wasn’t feeling all that much better about things. She’d grabbed some lunch with an old friend, Bianca, and she’d spoken excitedly of how she had so many great things coming up at work and so many fabulous designs she’d sketched, and how she’d ordered so many new fabrics and how her wedding planning with her fiancé was going so well. She’d wanted to be happy for her friend, she really did, but instead she found herself ordering large glass of wine after large glass of wine and getting in an uber at 3pm all fuzzy and drunk and depressed about where her life was going. She was a successful woman, a good lawyer for a good law firm who had lots of good friends, but it was all just that- good, not amazing or exciting or out of the ordinary. She hadn’t been on a successful date in about a year, she was always too busy or never clicked with anyone she’d matched with or been set up with. Brooke wasn’t lonely, at least that’s what she always told herself, but she couldn’t help but feel as if perhaps that was what her life was missing- a nice girl she could settle down with and plan a wedding with and move into a thatched fucking cottage with. That was what all her friends seemed to be doing, at least.

She put her troubles to one side as she walked into work on Monday. It was a new week- she was going to think positive and be positive, and she was going to fight the cases she had even if they were shit ones.

This positivity lasted all of around 30 seconds after she stepped into the building, got the lift up to her offices, and made to walk into her room.

“Excuse me, ma’am?”

Brooke almost jumped out her skin as she heard a harsh, growly voice come from behind her. She turned around. At Farrah’s old desk was a different girl- small, tanned, with perfectly applied makeup. Brooke cast an eye over her outfit and had to stop herself from raising an eyebrow- red suit jacket, a crumpled white blouse underneath, and a tiny red suit skirt to match. Where the hell did they find these girls?

“You can’t go into that office without making an appointment,” the girl continued, her gaze steely and making Brooke feel as if she was some guilty criminal instead of somebody who practiced law for a living. She didn’t like it.

“I work here,” she said, her tone clipped as she made to walk into the office again. She was amazed when the new secretary spoke up once more.

“Well Ms. Hytes isn’t in her office just now. You’ll need to come back later,” she continued, her attention detached as she frantically typed something into her keyboard and clicked her mouse. Her voice was so loud and gravelly that Brooke genuinely couldn’t tell if she was meaning to be confrontational or not. In any event, she wasn’t going to take this tone from a secretary, least of all one that hadn’t even been working for her for a full hour.

“I am Ms. Hytes,” she snapped, forcing the other girl to jerk her head up and meet her gaze. She thought that would have done it- she prided herself on having nailed her intimidating glare for the courtroom- but the other girl scrunched up her nose as her face broke into a frown.

“Sorry, ma’am, I’m going to need to see some I.D.”

Brooke rolled her eyes so hard she almost felt her optic nerve snap. Giving an exasperated sigh, she rooted around in her bag and dug out her purse. Then, after a small bit of fumbling around with her card holder, she whipped out her drivers’ license and slammed it on the desk. The girl delicately picked it up between her painted nails, narrowed her eyes as she studied it, then gave a smile.

“Mhm, that all seems satisfactoratory,” she beamed. Before Brooke had time to process her turn of phrase, the other girl had leant over the desk and was sticking her hand out. “Well it’s lovely to meet you, Ms. Brooke, I’m Vanessa, the new secretary. But my friends call me Vanjie, so you can call me either.”

Brooke kept her face neutral as she shook Vanessa’s hand firmly. “I asked for a new secretary, not a club doorman.”

Vanessa gave a small laugh as she sat back down. “Oh, well you can never be too careful nowadays, Ms. Brooke, what with identity theft and terrorism and everything. I’m just makin’ sure the offices are safe. Think of it as a free added extra you get when you employ Ms. Vanjie.”

Brooke narrowed her eyes as Vanessa spoke, her voice unrelentingly loud and the vocal effect of being pelted by a grit truck. “Do you have an added extra mute button?”

Vanessa raised a single eyebrow. “No.”

Something involuntary inside her made Brooke snort a laugh without realising. She quickly wiped the smile off her face and cleared her throat. “Well, I look forward to working with you, Vanessa. However as this is a professional working environment, I won’t be calling you…Vanjie…any time soon.”

“You can call me whatever you want, Ms. Brooke,” Vanessa replied immediately, something in her small smile and the sudden drop in volume of her voice making Brooke feel embarrassed, a flash of anger striking in her veins and a sting of wet heat simmering suddenly low in her stomach.

As Brooke turned sharply on her heel, she cursed under her breath.

Fuck. This was a new problem she did not want to have to contend with.

***

The days passed without incident. Brooke was pleased- she was making great progress with her new cases and she won two more low-profile ones in the space of a week. Sure, they weren’t big or important, but with each successful trial she built her reputation in the area, and that meant more clients, and more clients meant an impending wage increase. She had no idea how she’d done it, however, due to the increasingly distracting presence of the new girl working just outside her office. She’d been rattled for all of her first day, that one line delivered by Vanessa in that tone she’d used having such a profound effect on Brooke that she’d been thrown off until she’d arrived home that same day. So she was even more thrown when she arrived into work and found Vanessa wearing a little blue denim jacket and skirt combo, which had been even shorter than her skirt from her first day.

“Morning, Ms. Brooke,” she’d smiled up at her while simultaneously typing away. “There’s coffee and breakfast stuff on your desk and I’ve CC’d you into some emails. You got potentially five new clients and obviously all the enquiries go to me, so thought I’d keep you updated on all the correspon…uh, correspondedency…on all the emails.”

Part of Brooke’s heart was warmed- Farrah had always been too much of an airhead to do something like this for her- but as Brooke looked at the girl in front of her, she shook her head. Today Vanessa’s long, caramel hair had three little plaits at the side, making her look more like a graduate intern than a secretary for a serious law firm. Brooke fought with herself- of course she looked good, better than good, but there had to be some sort of standards around the office surely?

“Thank you, Vanessa,” she said sharply, before click-clacking into her office and closing the door with a click. As she threw her bag on her desk and sat down, she fired off a text and, almost as quickly as she’d sent it, Detox was in her office.

“Hey, girl. I’ve not seen you for days, how do you look so fresh and un-burnt out?” she greeted her, walking in and sitting opposite her.

“Heavy concealer,” Brooke deadpanned. She decided to bypass the pleasantries and get down to why she’d asked to see her. “Um. What’s with this new secretary they gave me?”

Detox laughed. “Vanessa? I think she’s a nice enough girl. Why, what’s up with her?”

“Well, nothing, it’s just…” Brooke exhaled loudly, her eyes involuntarily peeking through her office window. From the side view of Vanessa’s desk she could see exactly how short her skirt was, and Brooke found herself wishing for a second that it was around two inches shorter. Fuck, this was a nightmare. “Have you seen her?”

Following her gaze, Detox scrunched up her face and shrugged. “I mean sure, Brooke, she dresses kind of informal, but you weren’t on the interview panel. Apparently her typing skills were through the fucking roof, 95 words per minute at 99% accuracy? You can’t really debate that.”

Brooke sighed. “What are my clients going to think when they walk through the door and see her dressed like that?”

“I think some people would argue,” Detox smirked. “That that’s a bit of an antiquated view, Ms. Hytes.”

“It is. Fuck, it is, I just,” Brooke put her head on her hands, enraged that this girl had had so much of an effect on her without them even having had a proper conversation. “I don’t want people coming to meet with me and thinking ‘Jesus, what kind of a place is this?’, you know?”

It turned out, to Brooke’s despair, that her clients found Vanessa not just tolerable, but loveable. If they were waiting on Brooke to finish a meeting, Vanessa would bring them coffee or offer them little sweets she kept in a jar on her desk, and chat away to them happily to keep them from becoming bored. And the first thing they always said when Brooke welcomed them into her office and apologised for keeping them waiting was, “Oh, don’t be! We had such a nice talk with your secretary, what a lovely girl. You’re so lucky to have her!”. Meanwhile every passing day, Vanessa greeted her every morning and said goodbye every night with passing pleasantries in between, formally and politely, but with that foghorn voice of hers that Brooke didn’t think she’d ever get over coming from such a tiny girl. So when she came in one day wearing a dangerously plunging v-neck blouse with several buttons undone and a navy velvet skirt roughly the same length as dental floss, something inside Brooke snapped.

Vanessa barely had time to say good morning to her boss before Brooke spoke. “Vanessa, could I see you in my office for a quick second?”

Her cold tone made Vanessa snap her neck up to look at her. Brooke expected to see some form of apprehension or fear in her eyes, but there was a steadfast look of something Brooke couldn’t quite put her finger on. Readiness? Serenity? Lust? _Oh my God, this has got to stop._

“Of course, ma’am,” Vanessa rose from her chair and made her way into her office, electing to stand in front of her desk instead of taking a seat. As Brooke followed behind her, she motioned for her to sit. Nodding slightly, Vanessa sat down.

As Brooke sat opposite her, she faltered a little. She’d got this far- now what? How was she actually going to address the situation?

“Vanessa, you know that this is a law firm…correct?” she elected to lead with, testing the waters. Vanessa nodded wordlessly, her eyes almost mocking her, as if they were saying _where the fuck is she going with this?_ Stung by her own thoughts, Brooke carried on. “And as this is a law firm, we have certain standards for anyone who works here. Professionalism extends to everything we do…including the way we dress.”

Brooke watched as there was a flicker of surprise across Vanessa’s face. She could have sworn the girl bit back a smirk. “Oh. Alright.”

Her temper flared. “Have I said something funny, Vanessa?”

“No, not at all, ma’am,” Brooke seethed as she watched Vanessa quickly fix her face and clear her throat. She smiled a little, all her bravado gone and Brooke was taken aback at how humble she looked. “I’m sorry…I was so excited when I got the job, I’ve never worked for a fancy place like this before, you know? Classy…I’m not used to it. And I’m really trying to fit in so bad.”

Brooke hadn’t been expecting that reponse. Despite her better judgement, she found herself extending the girl some sympathy. Her voice softened. “Look, don’t feel bad. My clients have all said how good a secretary you are. You’re doing a great job. Just…think about your office attire a little more.”

Vanessa nodded a little, then her eyes narrowed. “Is this a disciplinarary?”

Brooke thought for a moment. There was no way in hell she was going to get looked at as a softie in her office, not with the reputation she currently had as a cutthroat bitch. “It’s your first strike.”

The smirk slowly appeared again on Vanessa’s face, but for some reason it didn’t rile Brooke as much as it had done the first time. In fact, she found herself returning it. As she caught Vanessa’s gaze, she blinked and looked away.

“Well, thank you for your time, ma’am,” Vanessa said matter-of-factly, getting up and smoothing her tiny skirt. She walked towards the door, opened it, and lingered there for a second. As Brooke looked back at her, her heart hammered to find Vanessa standing there with a smug little grin across her face.

Her voice dropped again like it had done the first day, and fuck, she sounded absolutely delicious. “I didn’t know you paid any attention to what I wore, Ms. Brooke.”

Without waiting for a response, Vanessa was out of her office, leaving Brooke confused and distracted, with an unrelenting urge to let her hands trail down between her thighs.

The next day Brooke arrived to work earlier than Vanessa, and the first sighting of her was when she came into her office to bring her her coffee. Brooke was horrified to find that instead of making the situation better, she had managed to make it even worse- Vanessa was wearing her usual black heels, but paired with an impossibly tight pencil skirt, the hem of which stopped just above her perfect, smooth calves, and a short sleeved blouse that was buttoned all the way up to the neck. Even worse, her hair was up in a perfect bun that was practically begging to be tugged at until it came loose.

Brooke was glad when Vanessa put the coffee down on her desk, because she was convinced she would have spilled it everywhere if she’d been handed it.

“Good morning, Ms. Brooke,” she greeted her lightly, turning around from her desk and putting a hand on her hip proudly. “I took your advice and went shoppin’ last night when I got home from work. This better?”

With much effort, Brooke swallowed hard. “It’s, uh. Much more appropriate, yes, Vanessa.”

The other girl beamed as she turned to leave. “I’m so glad you think so. You have a great day, now- oh!” she stopped just before she came to the door, side-on to Brooke. “Did you drop an earring or somethin’ when you came in?”

Brooked frowned. “An earring, what- no, I didn’t.”

“Hmm. There’s definitely somethin’ down here, wait a sec…” Brooke’s heart almost stopped as she recognised that look in Vanessa’s eyes again, just before the other girl leant down without her knees bending so much as an inch, her body folded in half and giving Brooke the most perfect view of her ass and her legs in those heels as she feigned looking on the floor for an earring that they both knew didn’t exist. She could have been down there for minutes or seconds but eventually Vanessa straightened up, casting Brooke a sultry smile. “Huh, my eyesight must be going. There was nothin’ down there at all. Funny, huh?”

As Vanessa strutted out the door, Brooke realised that her mouth was completely dry.

“Mm,” she found herself squeaking out, long after Vanessa had been there. “Real funny.”

***

Firm dinners. Brooke had always hated them, the idea that they had to bond as a workforce! and keep morale up! by booking a fifteen-seat table in an upmarket chain restaurant and stuffing their faces with garlic bread all night. The only thing that affected their morale was winning cases, every fucker and his dog knew that, but as Brooke walked carefully in her heels from the uber she couldn’t help but feel some form of optimism for the night ahead. After all, everyone from the firm was invited to these things, from the boss to the cleaners, and she knew from a conversation they’d had earlier in the week that Vanessa would be there too. With that in mind, Brooke had chosen her outfit carefully- a bright yellow off-shoulder dress which clung to her curves and a pair of gold heels (which didn’t quite match, but were sparkly, which she liked). She’d styled her long, golden hair so that it fell in soft curls over her shoulders and back. Brooke had her hair up off her face every day for work, so whenever she let it down it always felt a little strange- but she knew she looked good, and, as pathetic as she knew she was being, she hoped Vanessa would think so too.

What did she want to gain from tonight, she wondered, as she stepped into the restaurant and walked up to the back where she could see people from the firm already. Even though Vanessa drove her crazy, she didn’t want to take her home- it was far too soon, and they still had to work together. Besides, Brooke reminded herself sheepishly, Vanessa could just be a typical flirt. She had no proof that she felt any type of way about her, and she could just behave the way she did around everybody. Brooke supposed she’d see how the evening went.

As she arrived to their table and greeted everyone, she noticed with a pang that Vanessa hadn’t arrived yet. Most of the office was there already, and Brooke was happy to see that Detox had saved her a seat next to her.

“Hey girl! Fuck, you look hot,” she cried, in her usual overdramatic way. Brooke laughed, hugging her then sitting at her chair. “Slightly overdressed for Cosy Club though, surely?”

Brooke momentarily thought about letting Detox in on her secret, but then realised that knowing Detox it would be all round the office quicker than she could say “I want to fuck my secretary”, so she just smiled coyly. “I haven’t dressed up for ages and I just wanted to make an effort, you know?”

“Well, it worked,” Detox laughed, then diverted the conversation on to something else. As Brooke half-listened, she noticed the empty chair opposite them, her heart racing as she willed the universe to let Vanessa arrive soon and sit across from her. To Brooke’s disappointment the next to arrive was Ariel, one of the men’s secretaries, who smiled and asked politely if she could take the empty chair and of course Brooke had to smile through gritted teeth and say sure you can! even though she wanted to tell her in no uncertain terms to fuck off.

Around 20 minutes after the table was booked for, Brooke’s heart gave a jump as she saw a familiar figure make her way through the crowd of diners. It was Vanessa and, as she approached their table and smiled apologetically and practically yelled about how sorry she was she was late, Brooke felt herself sucking her bottom lip into her mouth and biting it. Vanessa was wearing a tiny blue denim skirt, with huge rips in it around her thighs and ass, with an equally tiny yellow strapless top and a cropped orange denim jacket. It wasn’t fancy, in fact it was more something someone would wear to a night out rather than to a dinner, but Brooke already felt her pulse throbbing at her wrists. Crossing her legs, she watched as the men at the table greeted her, their gaze appreciative as they motioned for her to sit in the only free chair left. Although Brooke knew they were harmless- simple, horny old fuckers who were happy enough to look and not touch- she felt herself narrowing her eyes at them. She felt anger flare up in her blood, and a thought flashed through her mind.

_Don’t even dare look at her. She’s mine._

Shocking herself with how protective and possessive she was being, Brooke tried to distract herself and talk away to Detox and Ariel. Just as she was about to turn her eyes away, however, Vanessa looked up the table, gazing at her for a second before catching her eye and smiling a little bashfully, like she’d been caught out. Brooke smiled back, pleased with the reaction she’d given. _Check, bitch._

Two hours later the dessert menus were being handed out, and Brooke felt more on edge than she had at the start of the evening. She’d watched Vanessa out of the corner of her eye all night as the men poured her glass of wine after glass of wine and she grew increasingly louder and more animated. In contrast, Brooke had been sipping lightly at her own glass of Pinot Noir sparingly, hating the thought of getting drunk at these sorts of events or saying something she shouldn’t. She looked down the table again and watched as Vanessa wrapped her lips around her straw as she drank from a cocktail someone had ordered for her. Christ, it wasn’t fair how much she got under Brooke’s skin without even trying.

“Brooke?” she heard Detox’s voice snap her out of her daze, forcing herself to tear her eyes off her secretary and look at her friend, who had apparently been talking. “You okay? You seem really spaced out.”

Brooke blinked twice, trying to bring herself back to earth. “Uh, yeah, no, I’m fine. In fact, I’m just going to go for a cigarette. Two minutes.”

Fresh air and nicotine, Brooke thought, as she rose from her chair and made her way to the exit. Definitely the best plan to clear her head.

She was just lighting up when she heard the click-clack of a pair of heels behind her and then a presence hovering by her side. Somehow she didn’t even need to turn to look and see who it was. She felt her heart thud in her ribcage and a dull throbbing between her legs. This was the exact opposite of what she wanted to happen.

“Hey, Ms. Brooke,” Vanessa greeted her, her voice loose and liquid-esque as she slurred her words. “Can I trouble you for a light?”

Brooke raised an eyebrow as she saw a cigarette appear between Vanessa’s fingers. She knew she didn’t smoke- otherwise she’d be in and out the office all day, unable to use the saving grace that Brooke had of smoking out a window. Nevertheless, Brooke wordlessly flicked at her lighter, locking eyes with Vanessa as she gently put the cigarette between her pouted lips, closing her eyes as she took a drag.

“I didn’t know you smoked,” Brooke said, her tone low.

Vanessa blew out the smoke and smiled playfully. “Oh no, I just started, actually.”

“Really?” Brooke pursed her lips in disbelief. “Since when?”

“Since just now.”

Vanessa was smirking as she took another drag, and Brooke had to restrain herself from pushing her up against the wall and wiping the smirk off her face for good. Instead, she took a deep breath. She had to keep this conversation light or she would explode. “So, uh, you mentioned the other week that you hadn’t worked for a law firm before. What were you doing before you came here?”

“I did a lot of similar work. I was a receptionist for a hotel chain for a while and then I was a P.A. for a CEO for a short time,” Vanessa’s face screwed up. “He tried to make a move on me one day though and I quit right there and then.”

“Damn, I’m sorry,” Brooke frowned, feeling bad for the girl. Vanessa smiled and shook her head.

“All my friends told me I should’ve stuck it out, that it was good money, but…I’m not some dumb doll that fucks her boss,” she continued. Brooke knew it was a horrible way to think, but her last line felt like a slap in the face. She felt like an idiot entertaining some fantasy that would never happen. Sheepishly, she watched as Vanessa looked at her curiously, then smiled slyly. “I could always make exceptions, though. I don’t know, one day I might end up working for somebody really powerful and…attractive.”

Brooke swallowed. She wasn’t standing close to Vanessa, they were a few steps apart from each other, but Brooke suddenly felt completely suffocated. Vanessa had a glint in her eye as she spoke again.

“And if they proposit…propositionded me,” she stumbled over her words, making Brooke smile a little despite feeling as if she was melting. “If they asked me into their office one day and told me that they wanted me and couldn’t keep their hands off me any more, then I don’t know…I could change my mind.”

Brooke let out a small noise. Her voice was low and quiet, and she practically whispered a response. “That right?”

“Mm,” Vanessa purred, finishing her cigarette and letting it drop to the ground then crushing it under her heel. Then she suddenly brightened up, smiling as if the whole exchange never happened. “I don’t know, though! Maybe I’d be open to it one day! But like I say, I’m not that kinda girl, you know?”

Brooke was internally screaming as she nodded. _Fuck you, you utter fucking tease._

“Anyway,” Vanessa smiled, as Brooke noticed a silver car pull up on the road beside them. She hadn’t realised that Vanessa had her clutch bag with her the whole time, and cursed herself for how unobservant she’d been. “That’s my ride, so I gotta go. Nice talking to you though, Ms. Brooke. See you Monday!”

With that, Brooke watched as Vanessa bounced into the back seat of the car, shifting a little to get herself comfy, then look through the window at her. As the car pulled away, Brooke could have sworn she saw Vanessa wink at her, with a little smile on her face that spoke a thousand words. Bitterly, only one filled Brooke’s head.

_Checkmate._

***

Something had to happen soon, or Brooke was going to either explode or implode. That night she hadn’t been far behind Vanessa, booking an uber the moment she’d been left alone, rushing home and tumbling into bed and grabbing her vibrator, replaying their conversation and dreaming up fantasy after fantasy until she came hard with Vanessa’s name on her lips. That had been just under a week ago, and since then even their smallest interactions without any hint of flirtation drove Brooke completely wild. She didn’t even question it at this point- in her mind, she had convinced herself that Vanessa wanted her, and something was going to happen between them. She just didn’t know what, or when.

It was a normal, quiet Friday afternoon. Brooke hadn’t had much interaction with Vanessa that day, just their usual morning greeting and little bits and pieces throughout the day. Brooke was excited- she had a new client, a very important and influential man who wanted Brooke to defend him in a sexual assault case. From what Brooke had gathered the man was insisting he was completely innocent and that the allegation was a load of fabrication. Brooke never really enjoyed defending in cases like these, it always went against her better judgement- but selfishly, she knew this man had a lot of friends that he could recommend her to, boosting her caseload. She checked the clock- it was a little early, but she was ready, so she made to step out of the office to greet him. Before she could open the door, though, she hovered. She heard a man’s voice- presumably her client- and he was talking to someone in a dark, seedy, lascivious voice. Jarred, Brooke froze, her hand on the door handle as she listened.

“…I bet you’ve thought about it on top of your little desk too, hmm? Yeah…you broads are all the same. Just need someone to take care of you…well I could take care of you, sugar, trust me, I know how to satisfy a woman. I know you could satisfy me too, fuck, I can tell that from looking at you…c’mon, baby, show me a bit of skin before your boss comes out here-”

The more Brooke listened, the more Brooke felt like a firework that had just been lit, and her fuse was slowly burning down until finally, as she pushed down on the door handle and stepped out of her office, she exploded. Her client had both arms on Vanessa’s desk and was leaning across it, and the poor girl looked disgusted. As Brooke looked at her, Vanessa’s eyes were full of equal measures relief and fear. It was the first time she’d seen Vanessa look anything less than 100% sure of herself, and Brooke absolutely hated it. As she strode towards the man she saw how he sprang back from Vanessa’s desk, stumbling as Brooke lunged towards him, grabbed his tie, and slowly tightened it, tighter and tighter until she saw his red-cheeked face grow even redder. Spluttering, he tried to speak.

“Ms. Hytes, I’m glad you’re here- your secretary was making inappropriate-”

“My secretary was minding her own fucking business when a bunch of hams sewn together and stuffed into a suit decided to harass her on the job. Now, here’s what’s going to happen,” Brooke said, her voice quiet and shaking with rage as she gave the man’s tie an extra little sharp tighten for emphasis. “You’re going to get the fuck out of this building and never even so much as breathe within a five mile radius of it or I will take you to court and harvest every penny you’ve ever earned, and you’re going to find a new lawyer to take your case. Although, I wish you luck in doing that because the moment you step out of my office, I am going to ring around every law firm I have connections with in the city, which, of course, is all of them! And I will give each and every one of them your name and tell them to avoid you like the plague.”

With that, Brooke let go of his tie and brushed her hands together as if she was getting rid of some unidentifiable slime. She smiled tightly at him. “Rot in jail. Or, failing that, hell.”

As the man looked at her as if she was crazy and slink off towards the lifts, she heard Vanessa shout something obscene at him, although she was too full of rage to hear what it was. Her whole body was buzzing with anger, and she shook as she motioned for Vanessa to go into her office, flexing her fingers and tightening them and trying everything she could to calm down. The moment she closed the door, she jumped as she felt Vanessa’s arms around her and her body pressing tightly against hers, the smaller girl crushing her in a hug that Brooke immediately reciprocated. For a moment they stood silently, Brooke hearing herself breathing quickly and heavily in the empty office and feeling Vanessa’s heart race in her ribcage. Brooke wanted to hold her like this for hours, kiss Vanessa’s hair and comfort her, and it was at that moment she knew she was completely fucked because this was more than just lust now, this was feelings, and she did not want to cope with them at all.

Vanessa pulled away suddenly, exhaling loudly. She shook her head. Her voice was so uncharacteristically small and quiet. “Sorry, I just needed…fuck. Thank you. I just needed to let you know how much I appreciated you doing that for me.”

Brooke shook her head and crossed her office to the large glass decanter of whisky she kept on a silver tray. Her hands still shaking, she poured two measures into two tumblers and crossed back over, handing one to Vanessa. “I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”

Vanessa took the glass from her and sat down in the chair opposite her desk. She nodded. “I’m fine. It was horrible having to sit there and bite my tongue, cuz I knew that I couldn’t say anything- he was your client, so I just kept my mouth shut and hoped he’d get bored.”

Brooke’s heart shattered. She sat in the chair across from her, wanting more than anything to reach over the desk and take Vanessa’s hand. “Oh, God, Vanessa…never feel like you have to put up with any of that shit working for me, okay? If that ever happens to you again, you have my full permission to tell whoever bothers you to get the hell out and never come back. Got it?”

Vanessa perked up, smiling tentatively as she reached her glass across the desk. “To telling gross assholes to fuck off?”

Brooke giggled as she clinked their glasses together. “To telling gross assholes to fuck off.”

With that, she knocked back the glass, the warmth spreading down her throat and calming her shaking hands. She smiled affectionately as Vanessa threw her head back then immediately forward, sticking her tongue out and gagging.

“Oh, fuck. That shit tastes like tar.”

“You’re Puerto Rican, right? Is tequila not worse than this?” Brooke questioned, putting her glass down on the table. Vanessa let out an explosive laugh.

“Bitch! That’s a Mexican thing, not Puerto Rico. God damn,” she giggled, before her eyes widened and she slapped her free hand over her mouth. “Oh my Jesus. I just called my boss a bitch.”

In any other circumstance, Brooke would have rained down upon her secretary like a nailgun, yelling about professionalism and workplace conduct and respect. Today, she tried to suppress a smile, failed, and burst out laughing, Vanessa joining her as soon as she knew it was okay.

“You’re a good person to work for, Ms. Brooke,” Vanessa commented out of the blue, as the laughter died down. Brooke felt suddenly shy. She didn’t know if she’d ever been told that before. Guiltily, she thought about all the previous girls that had come before Vanessa.

“How come?”

“Well, you always say good morning and g’night and you’re polite and good to me,” Vanessa smiled. Brooke laughed.

“Oh my God. The bar is on the floor. What the fuck did your last employers do, keep you in a fucking cage?”

“Well I hardly saw my bosses at the hotel. We just got on with things, you know? It’s nice working for someone who’s a sweetheart,” Vanessa murmured her last few words, and Brooke felt a blush hit her cheeks.

“Don’t go spreading that around here. People think I’m a cold bitch, I can’t have that reputation tarnished,” Brooke smirked as she rose from her desk, taking the tumblers back to the other side of the room and telling herself she’d wash them later. As she made her way across, Vanessa continued talking. Her voice was soft, so different to how she usually spoke.

“Well you can try and pretend, but you’re always real sweet to me,” she spoke, Brooke feeling the atmosphere shift in the room a little. “Although when you were threatening that client, that was scary. But also kinda hot.”

Brooke nearly smashed the glasses onto the floor. She forced herself not to look at Vanessa, to keep her tone light, because _nothing was going to happen right now_. “Oh.”

“Mm,” Vanessa continued from across the room, and there was that tone in her voice again. “Really powerful and possessive. Like he was tryin’ to take something that belonged to you.”

Fuck this. Brooke straightened herself and looked at Vanessa, who had spun around in her chair and fixed her gaze on her. Her legs were crossed but her skirt had ridden up over her knees, and Brooke could see her toes flexing in her open-toe heels. Vanessa was looking at her through half-lidded eyes, the girl clearly a little affected by the whiskey she’d had in the middle of the day. Vanessa continued. “I do kinda belong to you, don’t I? I’m your secretary, I don’t work for anyone else. I’m just yours. And I have to do whatever you tell me, don’t I, Ms. Brooke?”

Brooke felt a moan escape her lips. There was absolutely nothing to deny now, not a single thing to doubt- Vanessa was making the most obvious possible play for her, and the ball was in Brooke’s court now, and oh, fuck, she could say so many things- _get down on your knees, bend over my desk and touch yourself, take everything off but keep those fucking heels on because I want them digging into my back when I eat that cunt out_ \- oh my God, this was torture.

Brooke momentarily wondered what a heart attack felt like. It felt vaguely as if she was having one. As she gazed at Vanessa looking like every clichéd office fantasy in the book, her eyes drifted to the clock. Shit. She had a client coming in ten minutes, which was nowhere near enough time she needed to do everything she wanted to the girl sat in front of her.

“Fuck,” she felt herself saying before she could stop herself. “I have someone coming in at four. I need to look over stuff before they get here-”

“Right, right,” Vanessa nodded slowly, running her tongue over her teeth and looking as dissatisfied as Brooke felt. “Well, I’ll just be out there if you need me, Ms. Brooke.”

Brooke ran her hands through her hair and laughed. “Vanessa…you don’t need to call me that. Just call me Brooke.”

“Oh no! No way. There has to be some standards around here, you said so yourself, ma’am,” Vanessa smirked playfully, the glint back in her eye as she turned and made for the door. Brooke found herself rushing forward, opening her mouth and grabbing Vanessa’s hand.

“Hey,” she said softly. “Give me your number. I want to make sure you get home okay after today.”

Vanessa smiled, biting her lip ever so slightly and sending shockwaves up Brooke’s spine. “Gimme yours and I’ll text you when I get home.”

Silently, Brooke reached up and grabbed the ballpoint pen that Vanessa had lodged in her bun, sliding Vanessa’s shirt sleeve up and writing the eleven digits on her arm softly.

“There. Sorry, I hope I didn’t hurt you,” Brooke frowned, suddenly bashful about the way she’d gone about things. Vanessa laughed.

“Oh no, you didn’t, but I wouldn’t have minded anyway,” she smiled, bringing her lips together momentarily. “I can take a lil’ pain.”

As Vanessa sashayed back to her desk, Brooke closed the door and let out what seemed to be all the breath in her lungs. Through the half-shut blinds, she watched for a second as Vanessa sat back down in her chair and got to work. Brooke bit down on her lip, took her phone out of her pocket and turned it over in her hand.

_Your move, bitch._

***

Vanessa had texted her that night, a simple Hey it’s Vanjie. Got home safe xo that met absolutely none of Brooke’s expectations- but then again, she chastised herself, she was hardly going to get sent a smouldering hot nude with perfect lighting, or start a furiously explicit hour of sexting, or get a text from Vanessa telling her her address and detailing exactly what she wanted Brooke to do to her and exactly how little she was wearing. Brooke wanted her, though, so fucking badly, and in bed that night she tortured herself thinking she could have blown her chance and that Vanessa maybe thought Brooke wasn’t interested any more given how she’d reacted earlier. The days went by and she wasn’t sure if she imagined it, but Vanessa seemed colder, a little more distant and a lot less flirty than usual. Brooke could have kicked herself. She kept opening her phone and staring at Vanessa’s name in her contacts list, wondering what to say but never being able to find anything good to lead with.

It turned out that she didn’t have to worry at all.

One night, Brooke was up late. She had to be at court the next day, and she was going over the case one final time before she went to sleep, her papers surrounding her and scattered over the bedcovers like huge flakes of law-firm snow.

Her phone buzzed at 23.05, and her heart almost leapt out her mouth when she saw Vanessa’s name on her screen.

_V: Hi Ms Brooke it’s just Vanjie. sorry to bother u so late at night. i got a new work outfit today but idk if it’s office appropriate. if i sent u a photo could u confirm? xo_

Brooke’s eyes narrowed. Where was this going? Without even entertaining the whole idea of leaving some time between texts, she decided to fuck the idea of not seeming too thirsty, because at this point Brooke was absolutely fucking parched.

_B: Hi Vanessa, yes that’s fine. Send away x_

Holding her breath, Brooke watched as the minutes ticked away, one turning into two turning into three, and she was convinced that time was playing tricks on her because each one seemed to last an hour. Finally, the image came through, and nothing could have prepared Brooke for what she saw.

Vanessa was sat on her knees, side-on in front of a full-length mirror. The glare from the flash took up half of the photo, but the other half looked like something from an onlyfans page- Vanessa’s tanned legs were clad in black stockings, stopping at the top of her thighs, where a black suspender belt was attached to them. Red patterned lace covered her ass which matched the red lace of the bra that cupped her perfect tits. Vanessa’s face was indecent- her bottom lip, painted the exact same red as her underwear, was trapped between her teeth, and her eyes were cast faux-demurely to the ground in a gesture that almost made Brooke laugh at its audacity. She could have been staring at it for minutes, completely shell-shocked, and she obviously had, as moments later there came a follow-up text.

_V: so should i wear that to work tomorrow or nah? xo_

Brooke immediately slid one hand down between her thighs and started touching herself needily, trying her best to text quickly with one hand. She had no idea how far Vanessa wanted to take the situation, but that picture was going to give her enough material for at least the next week, so Brooke tried to maintain the facade of professionalism.

_B: Sorry, Vanessa, I think you sent me the wrong picture._

A reply came almost immediately.

_V: no, i didn’t xo_

“Fuck,” Brooke breathed to herself, rocking against her hand as she typed. “Fucking tease.”

_B: In that case, I don’t know. It’s hard to tell from the picture if it would be appropriate or not. Please wear it tomorrow and we can meet in my office to discuss further. x_

Brooke thought about what Vanessa would be doing right now- if she was lying in bed, soaking wet and touching herself like she was. The thought made her bite down hard on her lip as she let out a desperate squeak.

_V: is it going to be a disciplinary, Mami? xo_

“Oh my fucking God, you little slut,” Brooke gasped, the thought of hearing Vanessa say those words in her ear acting like jumpleads between her legs. Gently sliding a finger inside herself and feeling how wet she was, she imagined it was her secretary playing with her and teasing her, and Brooke could feel herself nearing her climax.

_B: If I don’t deem it appropriate then yes, I might have to punish you, Vanessa. x_

The thought of bending Vanessa over her knee, pulling her tight little skirt up and spanking her almost sent her over the edge. As if she could read her mind, the next text from Vanessa came through in seconds.

_V: i understand, Mami. bad little secretaries need their boss to punish them hard, don’t they xo_

“Oh my God,” Brooke cried out into the silence of her room as she came hard, her clit throbbing against her wet fingers and her head completely spinning. She was practically panting as she fired off one last text to Vanessa, telling herself it would be the last one before she went to bed.

_B: I hope your chair is comfortable, because you might not be able to sit down properly for a while after I’m finished with you, Vanessa. 4 o’clock tomorrow x_

She knew they would want to tear each others’ clothes off the moment they’d lay eyes on each other, but Brooke had a busy day lined up. Besides, she had nothing in her diary in that last hour of the day, and it wasn’t uncommon to work late in their offices.

Somehow she didn’t think Vanessa would mind putting in a few extra hours either.

***

Brooke was happy. Positively glowing, she could even say. She’d lost her client’s case that morning, but nothing could ruin her mood today. She hadn’t seen her secretary yet, having gone straight to court that morning, but as she walked into the building she was excited to see how they were going to play it, to see how much of a facade they were going to throw up around each other. A tiny part of Brooke wondered if they were actually going to do anything after all, if Vanessa had maybe changed her mind overnight. She had no time to overthink stepping out of the building, however, as just as she made to walk to her office she found Detox hurrying towards her with a panicked look on her face.

“Brooke, I’m about to tell you some information and you have to promise not to hit the ceiling,” she led with. Brooke simply laughed- she knew Detox was a drama queen, the printer had probably just run out of toner or some-other-fucking-thing.

“Well tell me later, D, I’ve got a client at the moment. This is Mr. Matthews, the libel case? I could make soo much from this,” she smiled gleefully, her heart suddenly dropping like a broken elevator as she saw Detox’s face cringe. “What? What have I missed?”

“So your secretary…Vanessa…”

“Is she okay?” Brooke frowned, craning her neck to try and see her and failing.

“She’s fine…it’s Mr. Matthews. He was early and signed in with Vanessa…she turned in her chair and knocked her bag over and a bottle of vodka fell out. A massive one,” Detox blurted, Brooke’s heart stopping. Fuck. This was so bad. “He asked me to tell you that he won’t be asking you to pursue his case.”

“Oh my God,” Brooke could hardly speak. Mr. Matthews was a huge influencer with a huge wallet and a case she could’ve easily won. All her excitement and anticipation went up in smoke as she narrowed her eyes and exhaled loudly.

“Brooke, it wasn’t her fault…he’s just up his own ass, come on-”

Brooke didn’t listen as she stormed down the hall, rage almost clouding her vision and only one thought on her mind. _They’re going to have to look for a new secretary tomorrow, because this one’s getting fired._

“Vanessa,” she snapped from about ten feet away, causing the other girl to jerk her head up from her screen. “Office. Now.”

Brooke ignored the look of confusion in Vanessa’s eyes and the furrow of her brow as she walked hesitantly into her office, sitting down in front of Brooke’s desk as she slammed the door shut behind them.

Brooke marched round to the other side of the desk, electing to stand as she took two jagged, deep breaths in a bid to calm herself that did absolutely nothing. “Can you tell me why I’ve just been told that the client I was meant to be meeting just now has decided to take his case elsewhere?”

To Brooke’s rage, Vanessa was playing the part of the meek little humble disgraced employee well. She tucked her hair behind her ears and swallowed. “Because a bottle of vodka fell out my bag, Ms. Brooke.”

Brooke felt her hand fly to her head. “Can you also tell me why the fuck you had a bottle of vodka in your bag at work in the middle of the fucking day?”

Vanessa looked up at her, the look in her eyes almost detached, as if she didn’t understand the gravity of the situation. “Well, I’m going out tonight and I’m getting ready with my girls straight from work. I ain’t got time to go to the liquor store…so…”

“God fucking damn it, Vanessa!” Brooke found herself yelling, slamming her hand on her desk which only caused Vanessa’s eyebrow to raise. “This isn’t some fucking game! I’ve just lost a client that could have done so much for this firm, because my idiot ass secretary wants to party with her girlfriends!”

“I’m sorry, Mami,” Vanessa purred, crossing her legs over in her chair and making Brooke even more enraged and confused and turned on. _Fuck this._

“No! Vanessa, this is not-”

“I like it when you say my name. I’ve always liked it. Even from the first day I started working here. You always say it so powerful and dominatin’,” Vanessa continued, her tone all gravelly and sultry and making Brooke want to forgive her ten thousand times over. “Like I’m always in trouble.”

“You are in fucking trouble,” Brooke shook her head, tearing herself away from the situation that had begun to play out and back to the one at hand. This girl was responsible for a major fuck up, one that had completely ruined her day, and the only way that Brooke could get revenge was by ruining hers too.

“Are you gonna punish me, Mami?” Vanessa smiled, running her tongue over her teeth like she was mocking her. Brooke hated it and loved it in equal measure, but rage began to overtake her as it slapped her in the face just how little Vanessa seemed to care about this.

“Uh, yeah, I am. How does this sound? You’re fired,” Brooke spat. The words were out before she had time to work out if she’d regret it or not. Turned out, she did. Something inside her instantly calmed down, like a bubble bursting, and then she panicked when she saw Vanessa’s smile falter, her eyes momentarily empty. To Brooke’s relief, she pursed her lips and made eye contact again.

“That’s a joke, isn’t it, Ms. Brooke,” she smirked. Brooke frowned. She wanted so much to say _yeah! It is, now can I rip your clothes off and ride your face, please?_ but how could she take something like that back? It would be ridiculous.

“No. It’s not a joke. Clear your desk, I want you to go.”

Vanessa gave a small laugh of disbelief and uncrossed her legs. She fixed her eyes on her and Brooke knew from her gaze that Vanessa could tell she regretted everything she’d said, but Brooke was too stubborn to back down. A smile spread across Vanessa’s face as she made no effort to leave.

“Wh…why are you still here?” Brooke said, embarrassing herself at how small her voice was. Vanessa snorted.

“I need a lawyer,” she shrugged. “I just got fired. Unfair dismissal.”

“For Christ’s sake- no, you got fired for being a fucking mess and losing me a client,” Brooke sat down at her chair, resting her head in her hands and wondering how she’d managed to fuck up so badly.

“Last time you said I was on my first strike,” Vanessa smiled sweetly. “So this must just be my second, right?”

Brooke looked up from her desk and met Vanessa’s gaze. She watched as she sighed heavily, rolling her eyes a little like a teenager that didn’t give a fuck who’d been called to the headteacher’s office.

“Look,” she sighed, rising slowly from her chair. “I’m real sorry I fucked this up for you. I do feel bad.”

Brooke’s breath caught in her throat as Vanessa slowly made her way round to her side of the desk, closed the blinds at her window, and then perched on the side of the desk. “So…let me make it up to you.”

Brooke watched as Vanessa slowly ran her fingers up her legs, parting them a little and stroking up her inner thigh before teasingly running her fingers back down. A low growl rumbled in her throat.

“I’m wearing them, Mami,” she purred gently. “Right now.”

“Fuck,” Brooke half-whispered, half-laughed, shaking her head in disbelief as she watched Vanessa slide off her desk and move so she was sitting in her lap, her knees on either side of Brooke’s legs so she was straddling her. From here, Brooke could see she wasn’t lying as the tiniest hint of red peeked through her white shirt. Slowly, so slowly as if she was dreaming, Brooke watched as Vanessa leant in and pressed her lips against her own, kissing her slow and languid and wet and making a warm heat spread between her legs. Brooke gasped against her mouth. “Vanessa…”

Vanessa laced her fingers with Brooke’s, took her hand, and brought it up underneath her skirt. Brooke pressed up and immediately felt the lace and the wetness that soaked through it, making her moan. Vanessa dropped her mouth against Brooke’s neck and pressed three warm, wet kisses to it before she murmured against it.

“I’m not fired, am I, Mami?”

Brooke drifted her fingers under the lace and immediately came into contact with her slick, wet cunt. She shuddered out a weak little whimper and shook her head. “No, baby, you’re not fired.”

Vanessa’s smile was pure filth as she sat back and began unbuttoning Brooke’s shirt, rocking against Brooke’s fingers and biting her lip. “Mmm, I like it when you call me that too-”

Brooke suddenly jolted up in her seat. “FUCK, the door isn’t locked!”

She practically knocked Vanessa off her lap as she raced to the door, clicking the lock into place and making sure nobody could see a single thing through the blinds. She turned around, saw the time, and wanted to cry.

“Shit. I only have twenty minutes until my next client-”

Vanessa looked at her guiltily from her position on top of Brooke’s desk. “I mighta…anticipated us getting impatient and cancelled the rest of them for the day.”

In any normal situation Brooke would have almost popped a lung yelling at her, but right now she had a beautiful girl spread across her desk who was very, very soon about to be naked, or at the very least down to her underwear. And now she had the whole rest of the day to spend with her. Right now, this was the best thing that had happened to Brooke in a long fucking time.

“So efficient,” she murmured, as she took three quick steps across the room and hooked Vanessa’s legs around her waist. “I think you deserve a reward.”

With that, she pulled Vanessa close against her, craning her neck as she kissed her deeply, the slow, lazy movements from before now gone and replaced with urgency and fire and pure lust. Brooke didn’t know what was going to happen after this. She didn’t know how things would be between them, or if Vanessa would fuck up again and cost her, or if it would get too awkward and she would decide to leave. In any normal situation, she would replay the whole thing over and over again in her head, but as she pulled away and saw the glittering eyes and smudged lipstick smile of the girl in front of her, she thought that any repercussions that could come of this were worth it. She thought she’d needed someone nice, someone nice to settle down with and have nice kids with and be fucking sickeningly nice together, but she didn’t really. Nice was plain, and nice was bland, and Vanessa was neither of those things.

Maybe she didn’t need a nice girl.

Maybe she just needed Vanessa.


End file.
